Pets complete our families.

We had a tradition to always rescue animals from the shelter or donate food to the shelter. 

We liked to help people keep their family pets when they were down on their luck. We would give them pet food or do whatever we could to help. We would even pet-sit so they wouldn't have to leave the pet alone for hospital stays or if they went on vacation.  

We pet-sat more than we babysat.  

It was while pet sitting for a cranky Siamese cat that my sister became a cat lover. My sister became the neighborhood cat sitter. She had a way with her that every cat loved. 

Before we would get new pets to take care of we would receive our usual box of chocolates from Granny and a stuffed teddy bear from Momma. Then we would go outside and find a puppy or a kitten on the porch with a note attached. 

This one time the puppy was for me and the cat went to my sister. We knew where the animals had come from so we knew they were well cared for but the former owner had to move for work.  

The puppy was a little ball of fluff and a breed of dog I wasn't crazy about at first. But I fell in love with the sad brown puppy eyes. He was a part dachshund and part terrier. Up until then, I had only had bloodhounds and Labradors. 

It was easy to love the little guy. He got along with all the other animals and was so silly at times.  

His favorite sport was terrorizing the cats to get a reaction out of them. He was a funny little fluff ball that loved everyone. Everyone loved him.

He was my little buddy for fifteen years and since I got him I've had more little doggies than big doggies. The love of a pet can melt your heart when you think nothing is going right.